History
There are few faiths that date back as far as the Ivindi’s faith in their multitude of gods. Some evidence implies that faith in the Ivindi gods dates back several thousand years. The history of the faith itself states that the Ivindi are the eldest of all the gods, even older than the Sun and the Moon gods that so many other cultures worship. This is not the first world, it is the fourth. At the beginning of each incarnation of the world there is nothing but the ocean and in that ocean an acorn floats. From that acorn comes Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Thus the world, like humanity, is born, lives, and dies, to be reborn again at a later time. It is Brahma that creates life and the world around him. His breath is the wind of life and brings form to the world around them. Vishnu is the maintainer of the world. He is the main enactor of justice and civilization and, as such, is the most popular of the trinity. Shiva is the god of death and rebirth, as it is only through death that one can experience rebirth and receive their kharma.
In the first world, the gods walked among man and discovered brothers and sisters among them.
But the world is a complex place, where shadows lie, and it does not suit the gods well. After a time they realize that something is wrong, as their moods begin to change and their faces and bodies become more formless. It is Vishnu that realizes that the gods have begun to take on different aspects, incapable of holding onto all the power they have held thus far. Before he can tell others he is bitten by a snake and his throat swells up. It is his wife, Lakshmi, that saves him by placing an acorn seed in his throat to keep his throat open and Vishnu manages to convince Shiva of the truth. In a mighty effort, Shiva drowns the world and separates the gods from mortals. All that is left is the acorn seed in Vishnu’s throat, which Brahma uses to create the next world.
In the second world the great races of the Nagah, Vanara, Kakasana, and others that have grown beside humanity. It was the age of the animal peoples, with great lions and other wondrous creatures taking the stage. It was in the Second World that the gods first came to the world not as gods but as mortals. These forms became known as Avatars, and it let the gods walk the mortal plain without concern. These forms were still far beyond any simple mortal and the gods quickly became leaders and lords among the people of the second world. It was in the second age that the gods shared the knowledge of Sutras with the world, and it was Parvati that blessed the world with that knowledge, and at the same time nearly destroyed it. The world was not ready for the power of Sutras and as the knowledge spread to more and more of the mortal races and chaos quickly spread until the fabric of the universe was at risk. Once again the world was destroyed by the gods and rebuilt.
The third world saw the first age of man. The animals that had ruled the previous age were, for the most part, greatly diminished, and while the power of Sutras found their way into the world once more, their power was greatly diminished by the gods that had seen the folly of their actions. The Gods once again came down as Avatars, helping to form great kingdoms. Still, not all was well, for out of the chaos of the Second age, a new type of creature had been born, the Rakshasa. Demons given form, the Rakshasa terrorized humanity and in the wake of the death of the Avatars they conquered all the people of the world. They destroyed the old records of the past ages, leaving much lost to the mists of history. Refusing to see this age fall to chaos as the Second age had, the gods once again took mortal forms. Assisted by the mortal Buddha, the gods conquered the Rakshasa, killing many and locking the rest away behind a great Seal. After that was a time of prosperity and, for the most part, peace. The third world ended in blood as the final age of the cycle began.
The fourth world began in disaster. The Rhumalis subsumed Shiva’s primary aspect with that of Kali-Ma, the Goddess of Destruction. This single act has brought about the destruction of the pantheon and the death of millions. The Fourth Age is the age of destruction, but the faithful will whisper that after destruction comes rebirth, and pray that someday Vishnu will return to them, slay Kali-Ma, and bring about the beginning of the cycle once more. The question for doubters is what will be left after the apparent complete destruction of all the gods, or if any still remain that can challenge her.
The Heavens
The heavens of the Ivindi gods are a complex place that not even some of the faithful fully understand, and many outsiders are completely lost about. In the heavens exist the Hindi gods, their exact numbers are uncertain to many. This is primarily because each god may have several different aspects, often referred to as faces. Sometimes a god may take on a new aspect for a time to complete a task, or as mortal societies needs for a god change. Some brahmana state that there are only three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and that all other gods are merely different faces of the three. Others say there are as many as a 33,000, stating that a different face must still remain within the original duty of the god in question. The most common thought however is that there are thirty-three gods. Each god maintains their own palace and grounds in the heavens. The three greatest estates are those of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, but powerful and popular gods such as Indra, Yama, and Ganesha also maintain palatial estates that are almost their equal. While particularly pious brahman have been known to be allowed to visit the Palatial estates of the gods, no mortal is allowed to live in the estate of a god. Those few mortal spirits that have ascended remain in their own estate for the most part.
The Hindi faith relies upon the notion of reincarnation. One lives, dies, and is reborn upon the world until they reach a state of pureness of body to equal the pureness of their spirit. One will be reborn until they are capable of removing themselves from the corruptibility of the self and the world at large. One does not retain their self from lifetime to lifetime, each new incarnation is a new person, with a new personality all their own, while still being related to their old personality. How long it takes for the cycle of rebirth is a matter of some contention among brahman but the prevailing theory is that it is immediate. Once one has no more earthly concerns, they may pass on to the Heavens. This is an arduous process that, even for the best, can take dozens of lifetimes to accomplish. Indeed, by most accounts, since the dawn of time there have only been 3,300 individuals that have managed the feat.
There is another aspect to the Heavens of the Hindi faith however, the revelations of the Buddha a millenium ago founded a new faith based on the enlightenment of the soul. Those that follow Buddhist strictures are less common than those that follow the Hindi faith, but they make up a considerably larger portion of Brahman and, most say, those that have reached Nirvana. While there was some contention over whether the Buddha was, in actuality, an Avatar, most faithful agree that the Buddha was just a man, and thus has his own palatial estate in the heavens.
Displays of Faith
The Ivindi faithful like their edifices and temples as much as any other religion and tall towering temples were a common enough feature in the lands of the faithful, but there was also a very shamanistic aspect to the faith as well, as many natural locations, from rivers to mountains to forests are considered to be immensely important religious spots as well. The headwaters of what eventually becomes the mighty Nahr’umar starts in Ivindi lands and it has often been marked as a site of immense religious importance, capable of washing away the ills both spiritual and physical of the body and yearly celebrations are held there to cleanse the faithful of a year of mortality.
Cows are likewise revered as the sacred animals of the gods, and also as the bringers of life. Cows are not eaten in Ivindi culture and are generally allowed to roam free as they choose. Killing a cow is considered to bring the ill will of the gods upon a person so most are very careful to give full respect to such mighty beasts, even as they must occasionally attempt to corral one out of a shop they have taken a liking to. While killing cattle is considered a crime, cows milk, and the materials made from it, hold a significant religious importance, butter made from cow’s milk makes numerous appearances in rituals.
Language plays an important role in Ivindi faith, indeed language is considered to be equal parts conversation and magic, words are seen as being very powerful and capable of bringing about great changes in the world with the proper phrase. As such, many of the most devoted are very careful in choosing their words, knowing that one wrong word or phrase could spell disaster.
Lifestyle
Most who follow the faith of the Ivindi are avid vegetarians. For outsiders this decision may seem odd as strictures only prohibit the eating of cows, which leaves many other options available. But over the centuries, religious dogma has changed. Additionally, there is the matter of reincarnation and if a person may be reborn into the cycle as an animal, the unanswered question is if that would be considered cannibalism.
Learning and knowledge are considered to be of immense importance to those of the Ivindi, this can be tied to the fact that their main connection to the gods, magic, is through the written and spoken word. Many among the noble castes are highly literate and even some among the merchant or farming castes have been found to be literate as well. This high level of learning served as a great push towards advancement of technology and knowledge among the Ivindi.
The caste system of the Ivindi is more rigid than even the Rokugani can claim to. Two castes vie for supremacy at the top of the Ivindi faithful, the Brahmin and the Kshatriya. The Brahmin serve primarily as priests and scholars of their people, wielding immense spiritual power among their people. The Kshatriya are the kings and warriors of the Ivindi, wielding temporal power over their subjects. Over time the pendulum has swung between these two castes as the head of the Ivindi numerous times. With the fall of the Kingdoms this fight for supremacy is once more taking place.
There are three other castes within the Ivindi belief structure. The Vaishyas control considerable power on their own and are primarily the farmers, artisans, and merchants that can call up enough support to back their position firmly in third among the Ivindi. The Shudras come next, they serve as laborers and service providers for the Ivindi people, creating little of value themselves while still being of some value for their experience. The final caste does not have a true caste, they are occasionally labeled among the Shudra, but even the Shudra do not want them. These are the people who deal with unclean things, they are often not referred to as a group, preferring silence over even speaking of the matter. Sometimes, though, they are called the Dalit or Untouchables.
Caste among the Dispossessed
With the Ivory Kingdoms destroyed and its people scattered to the four winds, the previously solid caste system is finding itself to be much more mutable by necessity. The Brahmin must occasionally see to the cleaning of their own clothing because the Shudra that had previously done so no longer exist. if a Vaishya should prove themselves in battle where so many Kshatriya have fallen, they must ask themselves if the purity of the caste system is worth losing valuable members of what remains of the Ivindi people.
Ivindi Faith
History
There are few faiths that date back as far as the Ivindi’s faith in their multitude of gods. Some evidence implies that faith in the Ivindi gods dates back several thousand years. The history of the faith itself states that the Ivindi are the eldest of all the gods, even older than the Sun and the Moon gods that so many other cultures worship. This is not the first world, it is the fourth. At the beginning of each incarnation of the world there is nothing but the ocean and in that ocean an acorn floats. From that acorn comes Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Thus the world, like humanity, is born, lives, and dies, to be reborn again at a later time. It is Brahma that creates life and the world around him. His breath is the wind of life and brings form to the world around them. Vishnu is the maintainer of the world. He is the main enactor of justice and civilization and, as such, is the most popular of the trinity. Shiva is the god of death and rebirth, as it is only through death that one can experience rebirth and receive their kharma.
In the first world, the gods walked among man and discovered brothers and sisters among them.
But the world is a complex place, where shadows lie, and it does not suit the gods well. After a time they realize that something is wrong, as their moods begin to change and their faces and bodies become more formless. It is Vishnu that realizes that the gods have begun to take on different aspects, incapable of holding onto all the power they have held thus far. Before he can tell others he is bitten by a snake and his throat swells up. It is his wife, Lakshmi, that saves him by placing an acorn seed in his throat to keep his throat open and Vishnu manages to convince Shiva of the truth. In a mighty effort, Shiva drowns the world and separates the gods from mortals. All that is left is the acorn seed in Vishnu’s throat, which Brahma uses to create the next world.
In the second world the great races of the Nagah, Vanara, Kakasana, and others that have grown beside humanity. It was the age of the animal peoples, with great lions and other wondrous creatures taking the stage. It was in the Second World that the gods first came to the world not as gods but as mortals. These forms became known as Avatars, and it let the gods walk the mortal plain without concern. These forms were still far beyond any simple mortal and the gods quickly became leaders and lords among the people of the second world. It was in the second age that the gods shared the knowledge of Sutras with the world, and it was Parvati that blessed the world with that knowledge, and at the same time nearly destroyed it. The world was not ready for the power of Sutras and as the knowledge spread to more and more of the mortal races and chaos quickly spread until the fabric of the universe was at risk. Once again the world was destroyed by the gods and rebuilt.
The third world saw the first age of man. The animals that had ruled the previous age were, for the most part, greatly diminished, and while the power of Sutras found their way into the world once more, their power was greatly diminished by the gods that had seen the folly of their actions. The Gods once again came down as Avatars, helping to form great kingdoms. Still, not all was well, for out of the chaos of the Second age, a new type of creature had been born, the Rakshasa. Demons given form, the Rakshasa terrorized humanity and in the wake of the death of the Avatars they conquered all the people of the world. They destroyed the old records of the past ages, leaving much lost to the mists of history. Refusing to see this age fall to chaos as the Second age had, the gods once again took mortal forms. Assisted by the mortal Buddha, the gods conquered the Rakshasa, killing many and locking the rest away behind a great Seal. After that was a time of prosperity and, for the most part, peace. The third world ended in blood as the final age of the cycle began.
The fourth world began in disaster. The Rhumalis subsumed Shiva’s primary aspect with that of Kali-Ma, the Goddess of Destruction. This single act has brought about the destruction of the pantheon and the death of millions. The Fourth Age is the age of destruction, but the faithful will whisper that after destruction comes rebirth, and pray that someday Vishnu will return to them, slay Kali-Ma, and bring about the beginning of the cycle once more. The question for doubters is what will be left after the apparent complete destruction of all the gods, or if any still remain that can challenge her.
The Heavens
The heavens of the Ivindi gods are a complex place that not even some of the faithful fully understand, and many outsiders are completely lost about. In the heavens exist the Hindi gods, their exact numbers are uncertain to many. This is primarily because each god may have several different aspects, often referred to as faces. Sometimes a god may take on a new aspect for a time to complete a task, or as mortal societies needs for a god change. Some brahmana state that there are only three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and that all other gods are merely different faces of the three. Others say there are as many as a 33,000, stating that a different face must still remain within the original duty of the god in question. The most common thought however is that there are thirty-three gods. Each god maintains their own palace and grounds in the heavens. The three greatest estates are those of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, but powerful and popular gods such as Indra, Yama, and Ganesha also maintain palatial estates that are almost their equal. While particularly pious brahman have been known to be allowed to visit the Palatial estates of the gods, no mortal is allowed to live in the estate of a god. Those few mortal spirits that have ascended remain in their own estate for the most part.
The Hindi faith relies upon the notion of reincarnation. One lives, dies, and is reborn upon the world until they reach a state of pureness of body to equal the pureness of their spirit. One will be reborn until they are capable of removing themselves from the corruptibility of the self and the world at large. One does not retain their self from lifetime to lifetime, each new incarnation is a new person, with a new personality all their own, while still being related to their old personality. How long it takes for the cycle of rebirth is a matter of some contention among brahman but the prevailing theory is that it is immediate. Once one has no more earthly concerns, they may pass on to the Heavens. This is an arduous process that, even for the best, can take dozens of lifetimes to accomplish. Indeed, by most accounts, since the dawn of time there have only been 3,300 individuals that have managed the feat.
There is another aspect to the Heavens of the Hindi faith however, the revelations of the Buddha a millenium ago founded a new faith based on the enlightenment of the soul. Those that follow Buddhist strictures are less common than those that follow the Hindi faith, but they make up a considerably larger portion of Brahman and, most say, those that have reached Nirvana. While there was some contention over whether the Buddha was, in actuality, an Avatar, most faithful agree that the Buddha was just a man, and thus has his own palatial estate in the heavens.
Displays of Faith
The Ivindi faithful like their edifices and temples as much as any other religion and tall towering temples were a common enough feature in the lands of the faithful, but there was also a very shamanistic aspect to the faith as well, as many natural locations, from rivers to mountains to forests are considered to be immensely important religious spots as well. The headwaters of what eventually becomes the mighty Nahr’umar starts in Ivindi lands and it has often been marked as a site of immense religious importance, capable of washing away the ills both spiritual and physical of the body and yearly celebrations are held there to cleanse the faithful of a year of mortality.
Cows are likewise revered as the sacred animals of the gods, and also as the bringers of life. Cows are not eaten in Ivindi culture and are generally allowed to roam free as they choose. Killing a cow is considered to bring the ill will of the gods upon a person so most are very careful to give full respect to such mighty beasts, even as they must occasionally attempt to corral one out of a shop they have taken a liking to. While killing cattle is considered a crime, cows milk, and the materials made from it, hold a significant religious importance, butter made from cow’s milk makes numerous appearances in rituals.
Language plays an important role in Ivindi faith, indeed language is considered to be equal parts conversation and magic, words are seen as being very powerful and capable of bringing about great changes in the world with the proper phrase. As such, many of the most devoted are very careful in choosing their words, knowing that one wrong word or phrase could spell disaster.
Lifestyle
Most who follow the faith of the Ivindi are avid vegetarians. For outsiders this decision may seem odd as strictures only prohibit the eating of cows, which leaves many other options available. But over the centuries, religious dogma has changed. Additionally, there is the matter of reincarnation and if a person may be reborn into the cycle as an animal, the unanswered question is if that would be considered cannibalism.
Learning and knowledge are considered to be of immense importance to those of the Ivindi, this can be tied to the fact that their main connection to the gods, magic, is through the written and spoken word. Many among the noble castes are highly literate and even some among the merchant or farming castes have been found to be literate as well. This high level of learning served as a great push towards advancement of technology and knowledge among the Ivindi.
The caste system of the Ivindi is more rigid than even the Rokugani can claim to. Two castes vie for supremacy at the top of the Ivindi faithful, the Brahmin and the Kshatriya. The Brahmin serve primarily as priests and scholars of their people, wielding immense spiritual power among their people. The Kshatriya are the kings and warriors of the Ivindi, wielding temporal power over their subjects. Over time the pendulum has swung between these two castes as the head of the Ivindi numerous times. With the fall of the Kingdoms this fight for supremacy is once more taking place.
There are three other castes within the Ivindi belief structure. The Vaishyas control considerable power on their own and are primarily the farmers, artisans, and merchants that can call up enough support to back their position firmly in third among the Ivindi. The Shudras come next, they serve as laborers and service providers for the Ivindi people, creating little of value themselves while still being of some value for their experience. The final caste does not have a true caste, they are occasionally labeled among the Shudra, but even the Shudra do not want them. These are the people who deal with unclean things, they are often not referred to as a group, preferring silence over even speaking of the matter. Sometimes, though, they are called the Dalit or Untouchables.
Caste among the Dispossessed
With the Ivory Kingdoms destroyed and its people scattered to the four winds, the previously solid caste system is finding itself to be much more mutable by necessity. The Brahmin must occasionally see to the cleaning of their own clothing because the Shudra that had previously done so no longer exist. if a Vaishya should prove themselves in battle where so many Kshatriya have fallen, they must ask themselves if the purity of the caste system is worth losing valuable members of what remains of the Ivindi people.